Directory:Wind

From PESWiki

Rather than increasing the size to generate more power, GE is designing longer blades and a more efficient drive train, making the turbine 25% more efficient. These next gen 4 MW units will be 300 feet tall and have a rotor diameter of 360 feet. GE hopes to release them in 2012 for offshore use in Europe. [1]

Overviews

"The power of the wind has been overlooked. Some day it will be forcibly brought to the position it deserves through the need of a substitute for the present method of generating power. Given a good breeze, I have estimated that there is as much as half a horsepower to every square foot of area exposed. The contrivance that has been at the disposal of mankind from all time, the wind-mill, is now seen in the rural districts only. The popular mind cannot grasp the power there is in the wind." -- Nikola Tesla ("Our future motive power"; Everyday Science and Mechanics; Dec. 1931)

Wind Could Provide 5X World Energy Needs - A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science estimates the earth's capacity for wind power if plausible areas were put to use with 2.5-MW wind turbines, and 3.6-MW off-shore turbines (within 50 nautical miles in ocean depths less than 200 meters) showed that wind energy could provide over forty times the world's current electrical consumption and over five times the global use of total energy needs. (Mongabay; June 22, 2009)

Salient White Elephant - Circular Wind Dam, Very High Capacity Factor Wind Turbine, novel and nearly foolproof lightning protection, Darrieus with Inverting Pitched Asymmetric Airfoil, Helically Stacked Darrieus Rotors (the only practical way to design a large VAWT with helical blades)... The list goes on and on! More than 100 suggestions for improved wind turbine designs that are both very unusual and yet very practical and workable.

Plans

Wind Energy Technologies

Artificial Pressure Difference

Shinyeon Magnet and Wind Systems - Shinyeon Energy Research Center of Korea has two highly exotic prototypes. One is a piston-based permanent magnet motor called the Magforce engine, that doesn't require fuel or electricity. The other as a tower-based induction wind generator. (PESWiki; June 18, 2008)

Bladeless

Wind > Bladeless Windmill from Delft - This structure, installed at the Delft University of Technology, is a model of a machine that would convert wind to energy without any moving parts -- any mechanical moving parts, at least. The technology, developed by the Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science faculty at Delft, uses the movement of electrically charged water droplets to generate power.(PureEnergyBlog; April 1, 2013)

Bumblebee Design

Biomimicry > Green Wavelength unveils bumblebee inspired wind turbine - Green Wavelength's 19-foot, aluminum and carbon fiber prototype known as XBee can be mounted both vertically and horizontally and the blades move in a figure eight motion. The design is expected to improve annual energy output, though the exat efficiency has not yet been fully tested. They are targeting an output of between 1 and 10 kW. (See video) (GizMag; November 5, 2009)

HeliWind

Lighter-than-air helical balloon. Power generator placed on the ground. Runs silently with no bird or bat kills. Generates electricity for 3.4¢/Kw-Hr: less than 50% the cost of oil and less than 25% the cost of a conventional wind turbine.

Horizontal Aerofoils

Wind > New style turbine to harvest wind energy - A new way of generating wind energy which could see smaller, more efficient turbines on the landscape is being developed by a Derbyshire inventor with support from Nottingham Trent University. The Wind Harvester is based on a reciprocating motion that uses horizontal aerofoils similar to those used on aeroplanes. It is virtually noise-free and can generate electricity at a low speed, and it is operational at higher wind speeds than current wind turbines. (WindDaily; February 1, 2012)

KiteShip - Very Large Free Flying Sails (VLFFS) for boats and ships provide up to 10,000 horsepower of controlled, inexpensive power from wind energy, to reduce ship owners' fuel costs by up to 25 percent, and vastly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants.

MagLev

MagLev Wind Power Generator Unveiled in China - World's first permanent magnetic levitation wind power generator is expected to boost generation capacity by as much as 20% over traditional wind turbines, dropping operational costs by as much as 50%.

Magnus Effect

Mehmetoğlu - Wind turbine with cylindrical blades is claimed to produce 30% more energy than similar types of turbines with the same input energy level. The video was taken under 4 m/ sec. wind conditions.

New prototype The function of this generator is that two or more cylinders are rotating in their own axis by giving some inferior quantity of energy. With the help of the wind stream the cylinders are causing the so-called Magnus-Effect and are turning in a constant circle.

Magenn - Inflatable, rotating balloon, wind turbine design had expected to be read for market readiness in 2006 (haven't made it yet); at a price close to grid power.

Magnus Turbine Generates Power at a Low Cost - MECARO launched production of the Vortes-model wind turbine, based on the principle of the Magnus effect, enabling the turbine to turn using lift generated by spinning cylinders with spiral fins instead of the usual propeller-like blades. The lift of the Vortes is four times that of conventional propeller-type wind turbines, and the turbine operates at any wind speed. (Japan for Sustainability; Jul. 21, 2007)

Micro Turbine

NANO VENT-SKIN: CO2 Filtering Solar Micro-turbines! - Nano VentSkin Agustin Otegui, who works with economies of a much smaller scale. He has conceived of a next-gen Nano Vent-Skin that sheathes structures in a shimmering solar weave studded with micro-turbines. The concept takes advantage of a structure’s maximum available surface space, and its modular composition allows it to retrofit our old buildings instead of pouring resources into new ones. (Inhabitat; June 4, 2008)

Tiny, Plastic Wind Turbines Suitable for City Dwellers - Engineers have developed a new micro wind turbine that can generate electricity at low wind speeds, on rooftops and balconies of crowded cities. Plastic gearwheels are linked to one another and can be arranged in an array from two to thousands of square meters. A set of 20 gearwheels costs about $25. (TreeHugger; Mar. 19, 2007)

Misc.

Wind > Barros & Pereira's cross-wind_bridge - As vehicles cruise down the road, they kick up a wind that designers Barros & Pereira propose to harness via a from a network of 2,188 light-weight rotating panels on a pedestrian bridge to power the bridge lights at night -- a sort of wind tax on the passing vehicles. (Design Boom; Oct. 26, 2009; thanks Alt Energy News)

Oscillating Wing

Wings for Wind Energy - W2 Energy Development may have a more efficient answer for capturing wind energy, based on up-and-down oscillation of a wing attached to a lever. The WindWing puts more surface area in contact with the wind than a propeller, and the lever magnifies the wind power, providing 40% to 60% efficiency, W2 reports. (VenturaCountyStar; Aug. 5, 2007)

EconoLogica - Rotary windmills are so badly matched to pumping water that they convert only about 10% of the windpower they could capture into usefully pumped water. Their cranking cannot vary the stroke of the pump with windspeed. Variable stroke is inherent in our oscillating wing'dmills, as is our high wind protection, neither needing fallible add-on mechanisms.

Vortex Oscillation Technology - Wind-generators with oscillating actuating bodies (wingmills) can produce several times lower cost electric power. It is possible to produce generators from 0.1 Kw up to 100 Mw, from wind, rivers, tide and sea currents.

Piezoelectrics

Wind > Piezoelectrics / Farms / Piezoelectricity > Windstalk concept is a wind farm without the turbines - An interesting Windstalk concept devised by New York design firm Atelier DNA could overcome the aesthetics and vibrations contentions to wind farms while still allowing a comparable amount of electricity to be generated by the wind. The array of densely arranged poles are packed with a stack of piezoelectric ceramic discs. Fluid in the base of the poles would turn turbines. (GizMag; October 13, 2010)

"Wind Tree" Electrical Generator - Imagine harnessing the power of hundreds of leaves fluttering in the wind. Richard Dickson is developing a passive wind harvesting technology that uses piezoelectric materials woven into textile-like material to form artificial leaves for a bio-mimicking "tree".

Wind > Eolic: A Foldable, Portable Wind Turbine - The carbon fiber and aluminum turbine is still in the concept stages, but we imagine that the Eolic could be useful in developing countries or in disaster situations where on-the-grid power isn’t available. If it’s quiet enough, the Eolic might also be popular among energy-conscious homeowners. (Inhabitat; Jan. 21, 2010)

Tesla Turbine

Top 100: Wind > Vertical Axis >TESNIC vertical-axies wind turbine - The TESNIC is based on the principles of the Tesla turbine, extracting the wind power via adhesion, in addition to the classic drag and lift extraction, enabling it to achieve a very high efficiency, with the potential cost of electricity produced below the utility price.

Variable Blade

Mass Megawatts Wind Power - The Multi-Axis Turbosystem (MAT) is capable of generating electricity at 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour at an average wind speed of 15.5 miles per hour. It can withstand 120 mile per hour winds, and level four earthquakes.

Energy Unlimited - Variblade™ - variable length blade is proven to increase productivity in low winds and reduce strain in high winds. It can increase capacity of a turbine by up to 20-40 percent in low winds while reducing unproductive load in higher winds. Replacing standard blades with the Variblade can turn a 108 kW machine into 140 kW overnight.

Eotheme Sàrl Switzerland - CRWT (Counter Rotating Wind Turbine) has some advantages: Effective reduction of electricity cost by 8% to 12%. Competitive efficiency enhancement by 20% to 22%. Enhancement of “farm power density‿ (i.e. more power and revenue from the same surface of wind farm or same infrastructure cost).

Vertical Axis

Directory:Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (separate page) - Vertical axis turbines have several advantages over the typical horizonal axis turbines. Generator can be on the ground for easier access, rather than up in the air. Generally begin rotating at lower speeds and are quieter. Lower susceptibility to cross-winds.

Former Soviet Weapon Designers Take On Wind Power - Vertical axis wind turbine systems have several advantages over more traditional horizontal axis wind turbines. They scale down more efficiently, are usually quieter, and have a much lower rate of bird kills. (WorldChanging; August 22, 2004)

Wind Ribbon

Humdinger's Wind Belt Economizes Low Wind Harnessing - Invented by Shawn Frayne, the Windbelt is a taut membrane fitted with a pair of magnets that oscillate between coils. Designed for low wind speeds and budgets, the device is 10x to 30x times more efficient than the best microturbines, and its cost is proportionately small.

Wind Tower

Wind > Massive Energy-Generating Wind Tower Proposed for Japan - Japan-based ZENA Systems is developing a new type of wind energy generator that will dwarf anything before it. The 50 meter-tall hexagonal building essentially acts as a huge scoop that compresses wind from all directions and then runs the rushing air through a series of ground-based generators. (Inhabitat; January 6, 2011)

Gedayc

GEDAYC is a new concept of wind turbines with blades and Kites 50% more efficient than propeller models.
Thanks to its design and the wide range of wind that generates energy from weak to very strong winds.
The idea is to create a logistics company that manages the design, manufacture and sale of wind turbines of 500 KW GEDAYC whose innovative design makes it equivalent in performance (KW / Year) siblings older than 2 MW, due to its ability to generate power with winds weaker and stronger than propeller models.
Gedayc a new wind turbine

Commercial

SWIFT Wind Turbines - Renewable Devices Swift Turbines Ltd. has developed the SWIFT Wind Turbine, the world’s first quiet, building-mountable wind turbine, capable of providing a cost-effective renewable energy source for domestic, community and industrial use. Developed in Scotland and manufactured and distributed in the US by [cascadeng.com Cascade Engineering]. (Cascade Engineering; Jan. 5, 2009)

IQWind - The IQWind flagship product is a new and unique gear system that solves the variable wind limitation. It is a mechanical add on to wind turbines that enables the upgraded turbines to work at much higher efficiency rates than current turbines under the same wind conditions. In addition, the IQWind solution is more reliable, lighter, and enables generation of higher quality electricity than other potential solutions.

Windports™ - The turbine effect windmill can withstand winds of 200 km/h when standard propeller units must be stopped at winds of 70 km/h. Absolutely noise free and without vibrations. Captures all 3 vectors of the wind when conventional windmills only capture one.

REPower Systems - With a rated power of 5 megawatt and a rotor diameter of 126 metres, the 5M is one of the largest and most powerful wind turbines in the world.

Wind Turbine Harnesses Aerodynamics of Buildings - Aero Vironment, which engineered GM's EV-1, has unveiled a compact wind turbine that sits on the parapets of a building rather than the roof, catching the wind as it travels up the side of a building, resulting in as much as 30% increase in energy production. It requires only a 7 mph (3.1 m/s) breeze to start up, and produces roughly 55kWh per month per unit. (TreeHugger; Oct. 2, 2006)

Skystream > Wind Energy Goes Mainstream with New Residential Small Wind Generator - Skystream 3.7™ is the first fully integrated wind generator designed specifically for the grid-connected residential market. The output would provide 40 to 90 percent of an average home’s energy needs. In states like Hawaii, where the cost of energy and wind speeds are both high, Skystream 3.7 can pay for itself in less than 4 years. (Southwest Windpower; June 27, 2006)

WindPartnersBg - - Used wind turbines 225kW - 1.5MW - Mediator and consultant for used wind turbines up to 1.5MW for Bulgaria only.

SkyBuilt aims to be the Dell of renewable energy systems - If you have a unique power need that is off grid, and you want something that can deploy quickly, is rugged, and will last for a long time, SkyBuilt is who you call. The CIA shouldn't be the only one to benefit. (PESN; Oct. 20, 2005)

John Deere Credit Wind Energy - Currently, John Deere Wind Energy is interested in investments that involve utility-scale wind projects. This generally includes projects that involve multiple wind turbines with a manufacturer’s nameplate capacity of 1.25 megawatts or greater.

Electric Pinwheels LLC - New type of small wind turbine/generator using a fabric blade structure. Available in a wide variety of colors, and even a transparent version. The result is a safer, aesthetically-pleasing alternative to other forms of wind power.

Government & Politics

Wind Energy Multiyear Program Plan For 2007 - 2012 - The Wind Energy Program is one element of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind and Hydropower Technology Program (WHTP) under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). EERE leads the Federal government’s research, development, and deployment efforts in energy efficiency and renewable energy. 115-page PDF. 2.2 MB. (PDAFku.com; Nov. 29, 2008)

Used Wind Turbine Market

http://WindPartnersBG.com - Used wind turbines for sale - Buying and selling of second-hand wind turbines, worldwide. Erection and restart-up of the turbines at new locations. Reconditioning (overhaul) of second-hand wind turbines, followed by 1(one) year warranty.

Theo Jansen's StrandBeest Kinetic Sculptures - Modern-day DaVinci-like genius has been building various contraptions that walk along via the power of the wind. Made from commonly available tools like plastic tubing, cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, hose, and tape, they combine engineering with art.

Past Developments

Research & Development

Better Wind Turbines - ExRo Technologies, a startup based in Vancouver, BC, has developed a new kind of generator that's well suited to harvesting energy from wind. It could lower the cost of wind turbines while increasing their power output by 50 percent. (MIT Technology review; Nov. 13, 2008)

Power from Thin Air - Having just provided gearless permanent magnet generator systems for a set of 3 MW wind turbines in Norway, the head of Arctic Wind Power Consortium gives the low-down on the latest hi-tech practice that is taking the large-scale turbine industry by storm. (Power Engineering International; May 05, 2006)

Brushless Doubly-Fed Generator (BDFG) improves the reliability of wind turbines - A research team from the University of Cambridge have developed a new generator technology for the wind turbine industry to the point of commercial exploitation, for application in a wide spectrum of wind turbines ranging from multi-megawatt systems for wind farms down to domestic micro turbines. (PhysOrg; Oct. 29, 2007)

New Low-Speed Wind Turbine Blade - “STAR", or Sweep Twist Adaptive Rotor, by Sandia National Laboratories promises to be more efficient and significantly reduce the cost-of-energy at low wind speed sites. Such sites are numerous in the U.S. and would increase by 20-fold the available land area that can be economically developed for wind energy. (TreeHugger; Feb. 7, 2007)

Hydraulically Stored Wind Power Increases Efficiency Dramatically - a company from Alberta, Canada (Lancaster Wind Systems) wants to bring an innovation to the classic and old wind turbines. The company itself hasn’t described the exact method by which they are going to improve the efficiency of the wind turbine, but the main idea is that they’re going to store a few hours of energy in a hydraulic system, so when the wind doesn’t blow, you’ll still have energy, converted at a higher rate.

Wind Turbine Guides

Wind Power Generators Guide - Four categories within the wind power generators industry to profile including Large Scale, Large Residential, Residential Rooftop and DIY Wind Generator Plans. (Green Tech Gazette; Oct. 27, 2008)

Want Your Own Wind Turbine? EcoGeek's Guide - Wind is part of the renewable energy mix, and there certainly are many homes where is is a viable option. For those, the range of options is growing. Besides the propeller turbine, there are a number of other options that are being developed and coming into availability that offer different features and performance that can make them appealing alternatives for some. (EcoGeek; Sept. 11, 2008)

Slip Rings

Slip Rings for Wind Power - Slip Rings by Moog Components Group, utilize fiber brush sliding contact technology, making them a “no maintenance” rotary devices for transferring electrical power and signals; and eliminates the need for common slip ring maintenance procedures such as vacuuming of brush debris, lubrication, regular inspection for wear, and brush replacement. (Engineering TV; June22, 2009)

Gears and Transmissions

Wind > Torque vectoring gears for smaller, more efficient wind turbines - Torque vectoring has been used in automobile differentials, allowing the amount of power sent to each wheel to be varied. Scientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen have now adapted this technology to wind turbines to eliminate the need for converting the alternating current produced by the turbines into direct current and back again before it is fed into the grid. (GizMag; February 24, 2011)

Software Predicts Electricity Output for Wind - The Previento system, developed at Oldenburg University in northern Germany in cooperation with researchers from Denmark's Riso National Laboratory, can predict not only how much electricity a specific wind park in Germany will produce but also the total amount of electricity the 20,000 or so wind parks dotted around the country will generate in the coming days and with a high level of accuracy. (Renewable Energy World; August 11, 2008)

Using LIDAR for Identification of Wind Parameters - Currently, Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is the best candidate to replace the met mast-based wind measurements used in power curve calculations for offshore wind farms and is being tested at the Alpha Ventus wind farm. (Renewable Energy; March 27, 2008)

IRATA rope access safety systems for wind farms - "The combination of our offshore and on shore maintenance and repair rope access experience, along with our NDE inspection services make us an ideal partner for a joint venture with a wind turbine management company or installer."

Device determines how well wind turbines operate - Accurate Time Linked data Acquisition System (ATLAS II) can provide a great deal of the information necessary to understand how well a turbine is performing, capable of sampling a large number of signals at once to characterize the inflow, the operational state, and the structural response of a wind turbine. (PhysOrg; July 26, 2006) }

Tutorials

Wind Powered Electrical Power Systems: 'Blowing in the Wind, If Any' - Wind power is great where there is wind and consumers nearby. However, if there is wind power in Wyoming, there is little power in Chicago due to the amount of electrical resistance. Understand resistance is critical to understanding power generation and consumption. Techtionary > W > Wind Power Generation. (TMCnet; July 14, 2008)

Videos

High Altitude

The energy in winds miles above us is sufficient to provide all the world's energy needs. It can be captured with Flying Electric Generators at two cents per kilowatt hour or less. This is less than the cost of producing electricity using fossil fuels or nuclear fission.

Offshore

WindCrofting

The emergence of windcrofting - An alternative to large scale wind farms is "windcrofting," installing rows of smaller-scale turbines between fields on rented farmland, so no productive land is lost. Proven Energy is beginning a program for windcrofting in the UK, and has already installed more than 1000 of their turbines on farms. (EcoGeek; Feb. 2, 2007)

Wind Farms

Two oil giants plunge into the wind business - Two of the world's leading oil producers, Shell and BP, have almost overnight joined some of the biggest players in wind power in the United States, accelerating a trend of large corporations investing in the rapidly growing alternative-energy field. (Boston Globe; March 2, 2007)

Applications

Water > from Air > Windmill turns air into water (video) - A system designed by the French company, Eole Tech, uses wind energy to condense water from air. It's still too expensive to be practical for most areas, but may be feasible in some extreme situations. (Yahoo; Aug. 8, 2009)

Wind Turbine Success Story At Jiminy Peak - Jiminy Peak, a western Mass. mountain resort, marked the one year anniversary on August 15 of flipping the switch and connecting its 1.5 megawatt GE wind turbine to the grid. The turbine, nicknamed Zephyr, is now generating a full third of the ski resort's power. But getting there wasn't exactly a breeze. (Information Week; Aug. 21, 2008)

Wind walkers (video) - Animari are animals that can walk without having to eat. One engineer has designed a light-weight robot that can walk along the beach, powered only by the wind... (Discovery.ca; Oct. 18, 2005)

Max Whisson's Gust Water Trap Apparatus - The Whisson vertical windmill cools the air passing through the whirling blades. As it does so, a proprietary process collects condensate, yielding fresh water from the air.

Clean Patagonian Energy from Wind and Hydrogen - A laboratory situated in the southern Patagonia region of Argentina is producing hydrogen from wind energy to supply power to a village -- and prove that it is possible to replace the polluting fuels derived from petroleum. (Sustain Online; May 13, 2005)

Sun and wind bring power to Navajos for the first time - The systems are portable, running on both solar and wind power, and composed of an 800 watt photovoltaic cell, 400 watt wind turbine, 10,000 watt hour batteries and an AC inverter. Added to the package is a high efficiency refrigerator and energy efficient light bulbs. (Salt Lake Tribune; June 27, 2005)

Hydrogen Generated by Antarctic Winds - The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) received a grant of half a million dollars from the Australian Greenhouse Office to demonstrate the use of hydrogen generated by wind in Antarctica. (Renewable Energy Access; Nov. 29, 2004)

Wind Power Goes Global - The Global Wind Energy Council, launched Wednesday, is the new global forum for the wind energy sector, uniting the wind industry and its representative associates. Members represent all the world’s major wind turbine manufacturers and 99 per cent of the world’s 47,317 megawatts of installed wind power capacity. (H2O Power; March 27, 2005)

Trends

Wind > Cautions / Trends > Overcapacity Hits Wind Turbine Market - The world's largest wind turbine manufacturer is laying off employees due to over capacity in the market from competition from Chinese suppliers and lower demand in European and U.S. markets as unsustainable subsidies decline. Strong headwinds are blowing against the industry as governments have been forced to reduce the overly generous subsidies they have provided to wind producers. (CanadaFreePress; January 24, 2012)

Wind / Trends > Zeitgeist > Top 10 U.S. Wind Energy Stories of 2011 - In a year-end report, the American Wind Energy Association says: "Wind power hits 20 percent overall in two states. It contributes a record 50 percent for a period of time in another. And the turbines that pump out all those electrons? Their cost has dropped 33 percent." (CleanTechnica; December 29, 2011)

Wind > Farms > Cost and Reliability > Does this Picture Spell Doom for Wind Power? - The wrong kind of wind? It's a phrase that haunts those desperately trying to justify wind farms in Britain. However, apologists for the giant turbines now face the unpalatable truth that structures designed to operate in windy conditions literally fell flat on their faces when the wind became a bit too strong. According to the latest figures, one turbine worked at 15 per cent of its capacity last year, generating generated electricity worth an estimated £100,000 but had to be subsidised with £130,000 of public money. (Express.co.uk; December 11, 2011)

Conventional RE / Trends > China Leading Global Race to Make Clean Energy - These efforts to dominate renewable energy technologies raise the prospect that the West may someday trade its dependence on oil from the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other gear manufactured in China. But they also provide healthy competition to the West to ramp up their pace. (NYTimes; Jan. 31, 2010) (Also Murcury News)

Humor / Entertainment

Humor > Wind > Coal Lobby Warns Wind Farms May Blow Earth Off Orbit - Over-the-top-hilarious. Panelists debate whether the U.S. is doing enough to heed the warnings of coal industry scientists who say turbines could blow the Earth right into the sun. See the latest ads run by the wind and solar industries. (Onion; October, 2011)

Humor > Wind > Human Wind Tunnel - Have you ever wished you could jump in a vertical wind tunnel to try out your skydiving acrobatic skills and coordination with other jumpers? This is better than coordinated swimming routines because it's 3-D. These guys are phenomenal. At first, it looks like they're in some kind of spinning glass ball. (Wimp; June 1, 2011)